Australia's reliance on black coal electricity generation falls to record low

Canberra, Oct 19 (IANS) The share of Australia's electricity generated by black coal-fired power stations has fallen to the lowest level on record, quarterly data from the market regulator revealed on Thursday.

Federal government agency the Australian Energy Regulator published the Wholesale Markets Quarterly Report for the third quarter of 2023 spanning from July to September, reports Xinhua news agency.

It found that mild weather over Australia's winter led to lower demand for electricity over the period.

According to the report, wholesale electricity prices were less than half of what they were during the same period in 2022, which it attributed to lower reliance on expensive forms of generation.

"Gas (an expensive fuel) and black coal (generally mid-priced) both generated less, due to lower demand and increased availability of cheaper fuels," the report said.

The report said that 45 per cent of power in the national electricity market during the quarter was generated by black coal-fired stations -- the lowest share on record.

The amount of electricity generated by black coal stations was 1,100 megawatts lower than in the third quarter of 2022.

Rooftop solar power generation was 31 per cent higher between July and September than in the same period in 2022 and 41 per cent higher in September alone.

On September 30, power output from rooftop solar systems hit a new record high.

The report said the record would likely be broken again in the final three months of 2023 due to growth in solar installations.

Wind-powered generation contributed a 15 pe rcent share of electricity to the national electricity market in the third quarter and hydro a further 9 per cent.